Abstract: Electronic confinement at nanoscale dimensions remains a central means of science and technology. In this talk, I will describe a new method for producing extreme nanoscale electronic confinement at the interface between two separately insulating oxides, LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. Using an approach reminiscent of the popular toy "Etch-a-Sketch", we scan an electrically biased probe on the surface of this heterostructure to create nanoscale conducting islands, nanowires, tunnel junctions and field-effect transistors at the interface. The smallest feature size approaches one nanometer. These structures are created in ambient conditions at room temperature, and can be erased and rewritten repeatedly. At low temperatures, a variety of quantum phases have been observed, including integer and fractional quantum Hall states and superconductivity. This new, on-demand nanoelectronics platform has the potential for widespread scientific and technological exploitation.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Army Research Office and Air Force Office of Scientific Research.